Xanthate of cellulose glycollic acid



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XANTHATE OF EELLULOSE GLYCOLLIC ACID Deane C. Ellsworth, deceased, late of Wilmington, l)el., by Joseph F. Haskins, administrator, Wilmington, Del., and Ferdinand Schulze, Waynesboro, Va., assignors to E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Wilmington, Del, a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application September 7, 1933, Serial No. 688,434

2 Claims. (Cl. 260-226) This invention relates to Xanthates of cellu- Example I lose ethers and more particularly to xanthates of cellulose ethers wherein the cellulose is etherifled only partially and that by means of a hy- 53 droxy acid.

The xanthation of cellulose by means of carbon disulfide in the presence of alkali and the use of solutions of the products thus obtained for the preparation of films, threads and the like,

is well known. Many variations in the technique of the preparation of the solution and the coagulation thereof for the regeneration of the cellulose in the form of bands and threads are Ninety-four parts of wood pulp were steeped in 1000 parts of 18% sodium hydroxide solution for one hour at 25 C., pressed to 235 parts and 5 shredded. After aging for 24 hours at 25 C. in a closed container the alkali cellulose was placed in a shredder and parts of dry sodium chloroacetate added.' The mass was shredded for one hour at C. and the temperature then m raised to C. for 5 hours. The resulting cellulose ether contained approximately one-tenth mol of glycollic acid substituent per glucose unit of the cellulose.

likewise known h d h t h t l 15 This invention has as an object the provision of ggf zg i gg ag g ig z gzg g fi w a process whereby Xanthates of cellulose ethers carbon disulfide added This was kept at C of hydroxy acids are obtained A further object for 14 hours. The resulting xanthate was mixed is the preparation of threads, films, and the like, with 450 parts of a 244% solution of sodium by the coagulation of Solutions the Xanthated droxide and stirred for 2 hours. After three a 9 ethers of hydmxy aclds' other days ripening at 18 C. the viscose was cast into so Jects W111 9 heremafter: sheets on glass plates, dipped into warm 18% oPJects are ,accomphshed by the follow ammonium sulfate solution and then into a somg l l Wherem 9611mm 9* i" lution of.18% sodium sulfate and 13% sulfuric droxy acid 15 reacted with carbon dlsulfiide in acid After washing the resulting sheets they as the presence of alkali, the solution of the resultwere dipped into 4% glycerol and dried 25 ing product being coagulable to form new cellulosic structures of considerable utility. Example I In the following the invention will be discussed A ti of Xanthated 10w substituted u with i to one Of its Preferred embodilose glycollic acid prepared as above is forced 80 ments, namely the Xanthation of Cellulose through a spinnerette into a coagulating and re- 601110 acid, y partially Substituting Cellulose generating bath such as is used in the viscose with the CH2 2 group d then Xanthating, industry. The resulting filaments arepassed a xanthate of a modified cellulose is secured through t t and taken upon a bobbin twhich has excellent solubility and gives SOllltlOl'lS, peed measurably greater than the speed of "xi suitable for spin on coagulation of Such emergence from the spinnerette. The resulting 35 solutions and regeneration of the cellulose derivthread is washed and dried by t m means alive n coagulating and regenerating baths Of The process has been described in terms of cele yp used in the Viscose industry, there are lulose glycollic acid but its analogs and homologs obtained threads 01' fi ms Of a partially Substisuch as cellulose-oxypropionic acid, alpha cellua tilted 0811111056 differing in hy p y, Softlose-oxycaproic acid, alpha cellulose-oxyma-r- 44) n ss, thread lu a y, shr n a a d garic acid, alpha cellulose-oxystearic acid, celludeformation wi h h n s in h m y f the lose-oxysuccinic acid, cellulose-oxymalonic acid, films or threads made from r n r l cellulose glyceric acid, and the like may be emlose. ployed. As starting material for the preparation 4| n a preferred embodiment of the inventioma of the partially substituted cellulose ether of the 4;; partially substituted cellulose glycollic acid made hydroxy fatty acid, for example cellulose glycoly the action example t0 111018 of he acid, prior to xanthation, any of the varieties sodium chloroacetate, is treated with car n 1- of cellulose may be used but it is preferred to use Sulfide in the presence f caustic alkali, the a relatively high viscosity cellulose and to use .0 sui te being then dissolved in dilute as mild conditions in this step as possible. In-

caustic alkali and the solution so obtained for-med stead of sodium chloroacetate, other sodium salts into films or threads, coagulated, washed, and of halogenated fatty acids may be employed, such dried in the usualmanner. as sodium' salts of alpha chloropropionic, beta The following examples are illustrative of the chloropropionic, alpha bromocaproic, alpha broprocess: momargaric, alpha chlorostearic, chlorosuccinic,

bromomalonic, or alpha chloro beta hydroXY- propionic. In general, any cellulose ether of the formula cellulose -O--RCO2H having a reactive hydroxyl group of the cellulose nucleus wherein R is a divalent organic open chain radical may be employed. The open chain radical B, may have aromatic substituents as in the case of the cellulose ether of mandelic acid CsHsCHiOH) COzI-I The radical R may be unsaturated as in the case of the cellulose ether of ricinoleic acid. The degree of substitution may range from that secured for example by the use of of a mole of chloroacetic acid on alkali cellulose to as high as 1 moles, that is, a degree of substitution of from approximately A th to approximately mole of CHzCOzNa radical per glucose unit of the cellulose molecular. The xanthates of the present invention are therefore of ethers containing less than 1 mole of substituent per glucose unit. Less than mole per glucose unit is preferred. It is desirable to use relatively small amounts of chloroacetic acid in the formation of the glycollic acid ether of cellulose, since when larger amounts are used the films or threads formed by coagulating the xanthate are more water sensitive than is in general desired. In certain cases the xanthates of the higher substituted cellulose glycollic acids are so soluble in water that coagulation is difiicult. These solutions, however, may be employed for certain types of coating compositions. In the case of the cellulose ethers of higher hydroxy acids this water sensitivity is not so marked and a somewhat greater tolerance of degree of substitution is allowed.

In xanthating the usual xanthating processes are used. It is desirable in certain cases to use relatively smaller amounts of carbon disulflde than are used in the xanthation of cellulose. Cooling the mixture at some stage in the process particularly during the step of dissolving the xanthate is also desirable. This may or may not be combined with the preceding. The time of ripening the xanthate may be varied and can best be determinedby coagulating small samples and testing the films or threads formed. No deflnite salt index can be set since the optimum varies with the amount and kind of substituent hydroxy acid. The details of the spinning or film casting processes vary with the amount of substituent hydroxy acid but can be readily determined in a specific case by one skilled in the art.'

Films formed by coagulation of the xanthates of low substituted cellulose glycollic acids or of other low substituted cellulose ethers of fatty acids may be softened by any of the softeners ordinarily'used with regenerated cellulose and may be coated with moistureproofing compositions. By low substituted is meant a degree of substitution of less than 1 mole of substituent per glucose unit of the cellulose molecule.

Solutions of xanthated cellulose ethers of fatty acids and in particular solutions of xanthated cellulose glycollic acids may be used in the prepacose to impart to the latter more or less of a variation in the above mentioned characteristics.

In the claims the radical RCOzH or CHzCOzH is equivalent to RCOz alkali metal or CHzCO-z alkali metal.

As many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to the specific embodiments thereof except as defined in the appended claims.

It is claimed:

1. The xanthate obtained by steeping 94 parts of wood pulp in 1,000 parts of 18% sodium hydroxide solution for one hour at 25 C., pressing to 235 parts, shredding, aging for 24 hours at 25 C. in a closed container, shredding the resultant with 15 parts of dry sodium chloroacetate for one hour at 25 C., followed by shredding for hours at 40 C., treating the resultant with carbon disulflde in the proportion of 16 parts of carbon disulflde for each 133 parts of the cellulosic body, and holding the resultant mixture at 25 C. for 14 hours.

2. The process which comprises steeping 94 parts of wood pulp in 1,000 parts of 18% sodium hydroxide solution for one hour at 25 C., pressing to 235 parts, shredding, aging for 24 hours at 25 C. in a closed container, shredding the resultant with parts of dry sodium chloroacetate for one hour at C., followed by shredding for 5 hours at 40 C., treating the resultant with carbon disulflde in the proportion of 16 parts of carbon disulflde for each 133 parts of the cellulosic body, and holding the resultant mixture at 25 C. for 14 hours.

JOSEPH F. HASKINS, Administrator of the Estate of Deane C'. Ellsworth, Deceased.

FERDINAND SCHULZE. 

